Once a fox, always a fox
by Ashes Of The Innocent
Summary: After reported missing, Dax Jones comes back, injured, but fairly well—apart from the fact that he's still in fox-form, and can't change back at all. What now?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **O.o A. Dax. Fic. Me? To write? Oh wow. XD I mean, lately Dax has been really annoying. Still. Had to get the idea out of my system. Hmm. I wonder which story I should concentrate most on. Eh, we'll see. Summary says it all. Hope you enjoy the first chapter! ;) I sorta have an idea for this story, you know. Gasp! First time!

**Disclaimer: **If I was Ali, don't you think I'd tell you? Probably not, I don't tell anyone anything. :P But no, as far as I'm concerned, I'm not her.

* * *

_1. Alive...and a fox._

Dax had gone missing—all the Colas knew that.

Five months had passed since his sudden disappearance and everyone was confused as to why he'd just vanish with no trace. No warnings, and definitely no weird behaviour from the boy to forebode; one day he was there, the next he was gone. Rumours had gone around saying he was probably dead, but no one had any proof of that. Or any proof that he was alive.

Paulina Sartre had tried to dowse for him, along with Cola Club's currently only dowser left, but to no avail. Wherever Dax Jones was, it was neither life nor death. It was somewhere in between, something which one of the Cola knew too well about.

His three closest friends were vexed, but now hope was drained out of them. He was probably dead, they would think. Or if not, probably suffering.

Control had searched and searched, but no one could find him. There was no funeral. Everyone had long lost hope though, and life at Fenton Lodge was bleak and gloomy, even if the death of Catherine, the worst person to ever live, had occurred. Without one Cola it was like a puzzle with one missing puzzle-piece. It just wasn't right. The True Eleven were meant to be together under one roof, no matter what. Clive also counted as one of them, so if he, or even Spook Williams, whom everyone loathed less now after his and Dax's adventure in saving the rest of the Colas, went missing, it was like a tumbling building.

And when one of those friends, Lisa Hardman saw an injured fox just entering her huge yard, anticipation, mixed with a sense of astonishment, and scepticism were all jumbled up inside her, like papers meant to be sorted out by a very busy worker. Was it or was it not Dax? was the question conquering her thoughts now. Was it possible that another fox enter in her yard, just like that?

It is, she realised with a fruitless pang and she heaved a sigh, sitting back on her chair, turning the volume back higher on her plasma screen TV, but paying little attention to the fashion show on it, her mind in another world at the moment. A world where miracles happened, and where no one she cared about died or disappeared; a world where she wasn't terrorised by any spirits, a world where she had peace, and friends, and her family.

She absent-mindedly changed the channel, and her interest suddenly flicked to the wildlife show on it, feeling even more dreadful inside. When Dax came at her house occasionally (Control had surprisingly let him, Gideon and Mia even after the running-around-the-country-incident), with, of course, their other two friends, he'd spend hours, late at night (apart from his usual foxtrot, fly or swim), watching any show that was on Animal Planet.

Lisa closed the TV, and the sigh she heaved turned into a loud sob. But it was covered by an even louder noise; a wail. She got up from her seat, and walked again to the window to see the same animal there, in the same place it had been before.

_Should I go or not? _she asked herself, and another voice told her not to bother.

Still, she went out to the panting fox, which was currently on his belly, and approached it cautiously. Its ears pricked at the sound of crunch grass, and its snout was up in the air in a second. Its eyes seemed to widen, and it leaped up, running for Lisa.

Lisa let the fox come near her, though she wasn't exactly sure it really was her friend. If it had been Dax, then now he would be in his human form, not remain in his fox-form. Or at least, he would have sent her a message telepathically, telling her it was him.

But as the fox looked up at her, with supposedly pleading eyes, Lisa got no message and didn't see it transform. The fox whined, in pain and frustration, and nudged her leg with its paws.

"D-Dax..." she whispered, kneeling down beside it. It seemed as if the fox's eyes lit up, and it nodded its head joyfully. Lisa put her hand on its head, unsure of what was happening, and ran it between his ears. "Where have you been?" she murmured, her eyes welling up with unwanted tears, which now flowed freely down her face. DaxFox regarded her for a while, his tilted to one side, before bringing up a trembling paw and putting his claws gently on her face, as if to wipe away the tears. She gave him a strained smile, but her confused expression reappeared on her face the next second.

"Where have you been?" she asked louder this time. He backed away a few steps, making a gesture so much like a shrug. "Why won't you shift back?" Lisa was now frowning. Again, the odd movement from his shoulders; and then a shake of the head. "You can't?" He nodded and walked closer to her again.

Lisa closed her now stinging eyes and sat on the pasture, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

This all seemed like a dream, she thought, and petted his head in spite of everything. He moaned again, and she looked over at him and suddenly gasped.

Blood trickled from muzzle, and on to the grass, giving it an odd shade; there was a patch where his fur was ripped off showing the sensitive, bloodied skin. He walked with a limp in one of his hind legs and an occasional whimper of pain came out of his mouth.

"What happened to you?" Lisa wasn't sure he'd heard her, barely hearing it herself. But he was a fox, and he immediately caught her soft and wavering voice. He shrugged, and something like a wince was contorted on his snout in the next second. How a fox could wince, Lisa had no idea.

The next second everything dawned on her, striking her in the chest like a cold wave of saltwater.

Dax was alive.

But he was in fox-form.

He couldn't change back.

It was _actually _Dax.

Injured, and...

A fox.

For how long, Lisa wondered, would he remain like this?

She shook her head, her face perplexed. Dax gave a raspy bark and she looked over at him to see him baring his teeth in what might be a peculiar grin. She smiled dazedly at him, relief washing over her as she realised that this really _was _Dax.

The fox gave another bark, this one huskier, and she gave him a questioning look. He whined and raised his paw up.

"What?" Lisa said, impatience now rising. "What do you want?"

Dax growled, and shook his head.

"What? Do you expect me to speak fox-ish or something? What are you trying to say?" Again he rumbled, and started running away from her, limping. "Hey!" she called after him, getting back up. She saw him heading to the house, and stopping, looking back at her. "You want to go there or something?" He nodded. "Oh...well, come on then."

The girl went up to the fox, and both walked inside the mansion, Lisa feeling very weird. She'd seen Dax countless times in fox-form, had talked to him telepathically before while he was any animal; and now that he was pretty much like any other fox just made things even stranger.

Maurice wasn't home, away for work, and her butler and cook were taking breaks. Lisa walked, with Dax stealthily following her, in the kitchen and sat on the stool near a bar, rubbing her temples as a headache overtook.

_ "We need help..."_

_"I'm...I'm dead..."_

_"Jamie! No, not Jamie! I need to tell him that..."_

She groaned at the voices in her head, and glared at every confused spirit in the room.

"Please, Sylv," she said quietly, "make them stop just…just now."

To her surprise, and gratitude, Sylv was able to let them off her for a while, creating a sort of border in between the girl and spirits.

"Thanks," Lisa whispered, her face cracking in a smile, receiving a questioning noise from Dax. She blinked and looked back down at the fox, having momentarily forgotten about him.

"Um…you hungry?" she asked, thinking it odd to be asking a fox if it was hungry or not. Dax nodded, and stuck his tongue out, rasping out ragged breaths. Lisa quickly fetched two bowls (which she liked to use to feed the cats and kittens which would come around here), and put one with water, and then took a piece of chicken and put it in the bowl, grimacing inside. She was treating Dax now as if he was more than half-animal—which at the moment he was. But how unusual it was to feed one of your friends from a blasted _bowl_, she thought shaking her head.

He finished the piece in less than two minutes, and his tongue racked over his teeth, looking up at Lisa with those small, dark eyes. For a moment, she thought he looked sort of cute, with that innocent foxy look on his furry face, but the blood and wounds on his slight body immediately took it out.

"Are you _still _hungry?" she muttered, and he nodded, starting to drink the water. She sighed and looked in the fridge again, finding a steak, and with a second thought took every meat item she had.

Dax ate half of it at an incredible speed, and Lisa told him to slow it down a bit, telling him he'd choke. He didn't listen.

"You okay now?" she asked once he was done. He nodded. "Good. Now to work out what to do next. School starts in two weeks. Until then I've got to nurse you. Oh, what fun," she said sarcastically. He barked out, loudly, and she hissed, "Keep it down!" and he did, though there was an odd curve in his snout, which told Lisa it was a smirk.

"Maybe I should tell Gideon and Mia," Lisa said thoughtfully, looking down. Dax shook his head hastily, and she threw him a surprised glance. "But...they will find out anyway," she said slowly. He shrugged and bent his head to drink again. "I'll have to tell Dad then," she conceded, yet still confused. "He'll see you anyway."

He nodded, and Lisa was already growing tired of the only gestures he could make. Nod, shake his head, shrug his shoulder...that was about it. Nothing else. _We might as well create...our "own language", _she thought.

"This is gonna be a hard two weeks," she mumbled wearily.

* * *

**AN: **Pretty short (compared to what I usually write), but still. Didn't have any more inspiration. But, no worries, I'm writing the second chapter as we speak! (type) Also, I was wondering whether this should be Lisa/Dax story, or if not, a Jenny/Dax one? Anyone want one of them? Tell me in a review! (Though I'm pretty sure which pairing will get more votes! ;)) Although, perhaps, a Lisa/Dax works better. Yeah. We'll see.

Thanks for reading!

**~Trippy**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Ah, chapter two! So soon? Kidding, kidding. Sorry for the extremely long wait, though I said I'd update sooner (which I didn't obviously) XD I was busy (still am, sorta) writing a very, very long, one-shot posted on the story thingy. And it's not done yet...it's far from finished. And anyway, ideas and ideas just keep popping (for other stories), which is kind of weird. Anyhow, I had to change _a lot _of things at this chapter to be pleased with it. Oh, and don't worry (if any of you were worrying), it's a Lisa/Dax fic. Oh, yay! (Note the sarcasm. ;)) But later on—I mean, a girl can't exactly have a relationship with a fox, can she? Hell, I don't even think there _will _be romance...no, there definitely won't be. XD

**Disclaimer: **Starting from last night, I own SS. Yes, take that, suckers! Kidding, I don't... :( Ah vell.

* * *

_Tingly foxy senses_

"Okay, so, Dad comes today, at seven this evening," Lisa said, looking at her watch. The fox shrugged and rested its head on his paws his body sprawled on Lisa's floor. "We have to think of a way to tell him. So," she took a deep breath, and glanced at Dax, "how do we do that?"

Dax looked up at her, tilting his head to one side. For a moment she expected him to shift back and say it was all a joke, but he just stuck his tongue out, and put his head back.

"Gee, thanks," she grumbled, glaring at him. "You're a big help." A curve was on his muzzle, his eyes twinkling. "Stop smirking!" she snapped. "We have to think of a way...then to tell Gid and Mia."

The fox's head jerked up, and was moved left and right rapidly. Lisa rolled her eyes. Why he "insisted" (or rather shook his head whenever she mentioned it) on not telling them, she had no idea. Mia might be able to come up with something.

It was two days since Lisa had found Dax in her yard, injured, and also, she found out later, stinking of a dog that'd been swimming in a dirty lake for hours, and then rolled around in the mud for another hour.

She had taken him to the bathroom, telling him to be careful not to stain her floors. Then she switched the tap on, let the water run for a while until the bathtub was full, and told him to enter. He'd shot her a weird look, and shook his head.

"Get. In," she had hissed through gritted teeth. He raised his snout in the air, closing his eyes, and shaking his head again.

"Okay, if that's the way it is." She walked next to his body, and looked down at him. He looked back up, his ears down beside his head, and his eyes pleading. He whimpered, and raised his paw, shaking it for good measures. Lisa faltered for a moment; she wasn't known to be a complete animal lover, but Dax was acting like a poor abandoned pup. She hated those puppy dog eyes he was giving her. Or foxy eyes...whatever they were.

The next second she hauled him in her arms while he growled in protest, clawing at her arms, like a cat. She placed him in the water-filled tub, and paused. Would usual shampoo work on a fox?

Then she thought again, and took a bath foam bottle instead. Dax yelped in gripe as bubbles appeared everywhere. Lisa smirked, enjoying the way he was defenceless.

"Time for a bath," she whispered. She put shampoo on his head, but the next minute regretted it.

Dax shook his wet body, and foam and water flew all over the room, including on Lisa. Dax growled at the same time Lisa gasped. He made to jump out of the tub, and she got out of the way just in time. He ran to the door, soaking the room, and paused. He twisted his head to look at the currently fuming, and wet, Lisa. He bared his teeth in a weird grin, and ran out.

Now, two days later, Lisa was still angry about it, but at least she'd stopped complaining.

"Breakfast!" Marguerite called. She got up quickly in her bed, and looked across at Dax, narrowing her eyes.

"You. Stay here. Don't move, okay?" DaxFox nodded. "I mean," persisted Lisa, "just...don't do anything stupid. And...Oh, for the _love of god_!"

"_What is happening?"_

"_Where the hell am I?"_

"_Am I _in _hell?"_

"_Hellooooo...anybody there? Mummy, where are you?"_

"_I...who...what..."_

"_What's going on?"_

Lisa glared at the spirits in her room: a middle-aged woman with a confused face, a tall, fat man with a rough and unshaved face, and an awful stench of alcohol which could be smelled even when dead, a teenage boy about seventeen with his hands in his pockets, an almost bored look on his face, though a still vivid scar tore its way in his relatively handsome face; a small blonde-haired girl, and two boys about her age. Her heart churned though when the little girl stepped forwards, tears in her misty brown eyes. Lisa gave a reluctant sigh.

"Dax, could you please bring me the SCNs in the drawer over there?" she asked weakly. Dax nodded, and went over to a chest drawer, opening it with his paws. Lisa realised, finally, that he was still injured and she hadn't done anything about it. He brought a couple of the pink slips, and a pen. She sighed again.

"Okay, then. First." The spirits looked at each other, and Lisa scowled at them when they all started towards her, bumping in each other. "In line!" she snapped. They looked at each other, and the tall man stepped forward. She winced as she got a better view of him. Dirty black hair fell on his shoulders, and his eyes were a pale blue, which would have been nice if they weren't so cold and hard. His knuckles were rough and red, and he was well-built, apart from his stomach which stretched out of his stained shirt.

"What is going on?" he demanded in a voice as hard as his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Lisa, your 'spirit hostess'. Oh, what fun," Lisa muttered. "Now come on. What's your problem? How'd you die?"

He stared at her as if she were mad. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, if you don't know how you died, get in the back of the line, and remember!"

The man growled, "Now, listen here, young lady, don't you—"

"Dad," the teenage boy said, "let me handle this. You were unconscious, so you don't remember anything." He looked at Lisa, sighing. "We were shot, we think. After we were apparently hunted down by a dog...or wolf...or whatever," he said shrugging as if it didn't matter.

Lisa nodded, and said, "D'you have anything to tell me?" She was glad these two didn't show it to her; it was horrible when she had to see the things the people had gone through when dying.

The boy looked at his father, and shook his head. "Apart from telling Mom I'm sorry, no," he said. Lisa realised he had an American accent for the first time.

"Okay," she pressed, annoyed that he didn't finish faster, "what's her name?"

"Lisa!" her cook shouted again.

"Hurry up!"

The boy said her name, and Lisa scribbled furiously on the paper.

It continued like that, until the last two people (she accepted now, while the rest were shepherded by Sylv) were left. They looked like thugs, big and strong, one with an ugly face, the other with a handsome one—only they were both confused and scared.

"What happened to you two?"

"Killed," said the uglier one. Lisa rolled her eyes.

"No, duh. _How_?"

They glanced at each other. "We're not sure," the other said slowly. "We were..." he suddenly shivered, and a sob escaped from his mouth. The other one did similar things. Lisa stared at them, confused. What had happened that had been so horrible? She inspected them up and down. Scratches and blood were marked nearly everywhere on their bodies; their clothes were ripped and grime was on their scarred faces. They looked as if they'd gotten in a battle with a lion.

"Okay," Lisa said, growing more and more impatient. "D'you wanna tell someone something or anything? Have you got a message from someone?"

They shook their heads. Lisa frowned.

"Then why are you here?"

"H-how should w-we-we know?" the uglier one stammered.

"So, what's your name?"

"I-I'm Matthew Spacey," the handsome one said in a shaky voice, "and he's Toby Rogers."

The names seemed vaguely familiar to her. She nodded and she said, "Scram." They left, and Lisa sighed, pushing the SCNs away. She heard Marguerite shouting her name again, and got out of bed, telling Dax once more not to do anything.

* * *

"Do _not _do anything, you understand, Dax?" Lisa said. He nodded, and she left the room. _Okay...how come she doesn't have any trust in me anymore? I still am Dax, aren't I? It's not like I'm...someone else. More than half-animal now, yes, but still Dax. I mean, the least she could do was give me a bit of trust._ The thought made him shiver suddenly: losing hers or anyone else's trust was not something he wanted.

If he were human he would've sighed out of boredom. But he didn't. He looked around the room, still marvelling at it. It was huge, and Lisa had whatever she wanted in it; posters with singers and bands he hadn't heard of, a computer, though he didn't exactly know what she'd use it for, closets and drawers obviously filled with clothes. A huge window left a little light to shaft in, warming the room up.

He looked at her bed suddenly. The slips were still there. _Eh, why not go through 'em a bit? _he thought. No...he'd have to get on the bed and she'd get mad.

_Why not have a bit of fun? _something said in his mind. He paused, then jumped on the comfy bed, pawing at the papers. How weird it would have been for anyone else, to see a fox on a bed reading some slips. Could he even still read? Well, yes, but the words were slightly jumbled up as if he were dyslexic or something. Instead of "medium" he saw "demium" which wasn't a word as far as he was concerned. The messages were short and so not even useful.

When he saw the last two though, he stopped.

**To: **_Unsure who_

**From: **_Lisa Hardman_

**The above medium/clairvoyant/audient has been contacted by spirit NAMED: **_Matthew Spacey, _**who wish/es to tell you that: **_unsure what._

**This communication is authorized by:**

He stared at it. Stared and stared and stared. Matthew Spacey...Matthew Spacey...Matthew Spacey...that name. Oh no. He looked at the other one where everything was the same, but this time with the name Toby Rogers.

Something suddenly popped in his mind. A memory. Of...them. Two, actually. He knew the first perfectly, but the second was something he hadn't seen...or was going to tell Lisa about. Not that he could talk or anything.

His stomach churned with guilt.

One thing though: he knew who had killed them.

When Lisa returned in the room, she was surprised to see Dax shivering in a corner of her room, his dark eyes wide with what might have been fear.

"What's up with you?" she asked. He shook his head. She shrugged and spent the rest of the morning, muttering to herself about what to do. Dax was glancing uneasily around, seemingly quite nervous.

* * *

Later that day, he found himself out in one of Lisa's garden, just lying underneath the shade of a tree. Lisa was running, having before said she needed to get away from the "low-life losers", _which is kinda harsh, because, really. It's not exactly their fault they died, is it? And they can't be low-life, because they're literally dead. Hmm...I wonder how it would be to be dead. Yeah, no thanks. I've been half-dead once, and I do not want to try being completely dead, _the fox thought.

Lisa stopped in front of him, panting. "You..." she huffed, "could...do...some...exercise too, you know."

_No thanks, _he thought, though he knew she couldn't hear him. He shook his head. She sat beside him, and her breathing evened out finally. She sighed and glanced at him, hopelessly.

"You're gonna remain like this for a long time, huh?" she said. Dax was surprised to hear the sad tone in her voice. He shrugged. She gave a sound of frustration.

"Ughhhh!" At first, he thought she was talking to a spirit, but her eyes were on his small, dark ones. "Now, _really_! Can't we talk _telepathically _or something? What happened to that?"

He shook his head again, and felt like crying out too. It _was _annoying having to just nod, shrug, and shake his head. And for Lisa, who had no patience whatsoever, it must have made her mad. A twinge of understanding went through him; poor Luke. He could sign, but having to be a mute for so long...

_Still...you're a _fox _for who knows how much more time._

"I'm serious, Dax," Lisa was saying, glancing worriedly at him, "we should tell them. Or Mrs Sartre. I don't think I can stand one more _day _with you a...with you a stuck a _mutt._"

He growled, and glared at her (in a very not weird foxy way, he was sure). She giggled.

"What? You _are _a mutt, you know. A _lazy_, incapable one. Anyway, see you," she said quickly, getting up. She started running, faster than last time and he could hear her cursing. He stretched his legs, and was about to follow her, and show her who was the lazy one, but something stopped him.

As she ran past him again (she certainly was faster than he'd remembered...then he remembered he had been gone for nearly half a year, god knows where), he could hear her voice but...he didn't understand what she was saying. The words sounded mumbled, but the voice was sharp. It was like being underwater or listening to someone but they were screaming and you couldn't get anything. Then he heard her muttering, _"Stupid, goddamn, ungrateful, little bastards..." _and he shook my head.

_My imagination_, he decided, and followed her into the woodland.

* * *

Lisa watched the clock on the wall nervously. She didn't know what she was anxious about; her father would understand. No, it wasn't that. It was Dax.

She then found herself thinking about the ways it changed him: he was different. More...stubborn, sly, stronger and...Different. Not exactly the same DaxBoy. Then again, he was DaxFox now. And that would be for...ages, maybe.

She was broken out of her reverie when something wet touched her palm. She looked down, and saw Dax giving her another I'm-an-innocent-cute-little-foxy-may-your-heart-melt-in-my-precense look. She shook her head; she was _not _going to give him any satisfaction falling in his little spell.

"Scram," she muttered. He growled lowly, paused, and then licked her palm. "Eww!" she shrieked, jerking up in the bed. "Yuck, yuck, yuck!" He fox-smirked again.

"Damn you, Dax," she hissed, wiping the fox saliva with a tissue, and throwing it in a bin, shuddering. "Gross. There's nothing I hate more than spit of some mangy mutt. Ugh," she groaned, putting her hands over her eyes, "I'm starting to sound like Spook. Dax, bite me, the next time I do that, will you?"

Dax barked out loud, and she took it for a laugh. She thought back about what she said.

"That didn't come out right!" she said quickly. "Oh, you—you get what I mean! Ah, forget it!" A ticking sound came from her watch, and she looked down. "What? What now?" She groaned. "Oh, my luck, it's 6.30."

Dax shot up from his position, his ears pricked and an alert look on his face.

"Lisa!" yelled a voice from downstairs, a bit too loud. She was on the edge of the bed when she heard him, and fell down on the floor, face-down. She moaned in pain, and Dax was at her side, his snout down, as his brown eyes blinked at her put-out face. She got up, rubbing the bruise on her forehead, and glowering at the fox who gave her a sincere innocent look.

"Stay—here—and—don't—you—_dare_—move—until—I tell you to," she growled through gritted teeth. "Understood?"

His eyes rolled around to the other side, but he nodded. She sighed and walked out of the room, Dax resting on his haunches. Once out, he walked to the door and opened it as softly as he could, and followed the girl, furtively, his body crouched low, and his snout up. Lisa went downstairs, hugging her father, and telling him that nothing special had happened in the past few days he'd been away. Though Dax could hear a nervous edge in her voice, and nearly chuckled at it.

He passed a closest and, on a whim, opened it swiftly with his paws, and entered the dark, confined space, his breathing echoing on the walls, and coming back at him warm and a bit uptight. He heard the muffled, yet accurate voices of Maurice Hardman and his daughter.

A sudden thought came to him; in these past two days, hadn't Lisa's cook or butler realised that there was something odd with her? Didn't Marguerite notice how much food Lisa was sneaking up for him? And didn't they _see _him? Either that or they were perfectly normal with some strange fox hanging around the house.

His train of thought ended when he heard two sets of heavy footsteps heading up the stairs. Closing his eyes, he sniffed the air, and caught Lisa and Maurice's scents. Fox-grinning he squished up in one of the corners of the closest, and could clearly hear Lisa's confused, and Maurice's bemused voice.

"What is it, darling?"

"Um...er...never mind, Daddy!" said Lisa, a bit too quickly. She gave a little laugh, that type which you give whenever you're caught in an unforgivable act and are about to be scolded by the teacher, whether you lie or not. Dax crouched low—nervous. Lisa was nervous. Her scent, something like one of those frangipanis flowers he'd seen in her garden, sweet and alluring, was now slightly soured by the edginess unusual for her—it vaguely resembled the smell of oil.

"Are you sure you're okay, Lees?" Maurice asked his voice filled with concern. Dax could sense Lisa nod her head briskly.

"Yeah, Daddy, I'm fine!" she said in such a fake, sweet unlike-Lisa tone Dax wondered if her father actually fell for it. "You—you must be tired after all that work!" she added, as though she could read the fox's thoughts—or maybe her father's?

It worked. Maurice sighed loudly. "You have no idea," he said. "I was talking to Paul about the next project and—"

"Then why don't you go to sleep?" Lisa interrupted. "I mean, sleep always helps you, right? And anyway, I'll need you al—erm, sorry, awake for the rest of the vacation!"

Dax shook his head slightly. He'd never heard Lisa _that _nervous. It was weird, especially for her.

"If...you say so," said her father slowly. He started walking further away, still puzzled. "Well—bye then."

"Bye!" she called after him, in a voice worthy of Catherine. Then when the footsteps faded, the door of the closest was thrust open and showed Lisa's very angry face.

"Get out of there _now_," she hissed. Dax walked out of the darkness, shrugging, and followed her in her room. Dax sat on the carpet, fox-smirking slightly at what had just happened, while Lisa sighed and shook her head.

He peered up at her, then, suddenly wanting to shift and ask her why she hadn't just told her father. And then, how _had _she known he was there? If their telepathic link was suddenly broken, or something like that had she felt him?

Furrowing his furry brow, Dax looked at her desk and but dismissed the thought of using a paper and pen. How would a pen fit in between his claws? But he had to find a way to talk...he had a few...no, a lot questions.

Lisa was looking at him all along, her eyes strangely understanding.

"Well...we can always use something else..." she said, and Dax looked at her. "I mean...how about we use some strange...ugh, you wanna talk, don't you?" He nodded. "Well...I dunno...maybe we can ask Dad for help? _After _we've told him, and _after _you've promised to snot to do whatever you're planning, got it?"

Dax blinked at her, tilting his head to one side, and shrugging as if to say, "What do you mean?" She opened her mouth to say something, but shut it back. Groaning she sank to the floor, sighing.

"I have no idea, Dax," she muttered. "I just want to..." she glanced at him. "I have this—this _feeling _that you're...er...not the same." Dax fox-smirked. "See!" she said. "There you go again with your damned fox-smirking!"

He let out a low bark, and she found herself laughing along with him.

An hour later Lisa said she was going out running. Dax had "promised" (nodded his head) when she told him to not do anything. She'd asked him if he wanted to go with her, and he shook his head. Why wouldn't she just tell her dad, already? Dax knew that Maurice was probably sleeping now, but wouldn't it be better to just get it over and done with? Either way, he was just glad she was out of the way so he could...

So he could what? He blinked a few times, but it didn't come back to him. Wait...but he'd planned this all night, last night, and suddenly he had amnesia? What was up with his mind? Why was it going blank...and why was he so hungry?

_You're a fox. Get over it._

Getting up, and wearing a confused expression, he walked to Lisa's huge window and looked down. The flowers all seemed to swirl, their colours sending him in a dizzying, gaudy rollercoaster, their odours strangely strong and like toxin, waiting to get the chance to destroy his lungs...

Then he fell unconscious, in a sleep-like darkness, which was suddenly filled with colourful, dreary memories of what he'd done and a dark meadow, three people wandering in it, and another voice shouting at him to stop...

* * *

**AN: **Ugh. This chapter sucks so much. Nothing happens. Dammit. Is it possible to get writer's block when writing the second chapter? If it never was, it is now. Sorry... :( Still, if you review you can tell me about any ideas, and what you'd like to see more of. (And if it's Lisa/Dax then...erm, well, I like said—he's a _fox_. That would be just weird XD). And anyway...hopefully the next will be better. I'm not promising anything though. (About both the updating and writing). Sigh...I always do this...SORRY. I'm serious...I hate my life...and this trash I wrote...I'll probably change it later, but I wanted to give you something..._very _suckish, yes, but still something. But at least there's some clues, I suppose...Anyhow, you're gonna have to have A LOT of patience with this story. I'm sorry again. ^^"

Anyhow, thanks for all the reviews! :D

~Trippy


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